The Power of Music

Music is all around us. It is the soundtrack to our lives. Music connects us through people and places in our ever-changing world. It is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. In our schools, music can bring communities together through the shared endeavour of whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils, performing. The sheer joy of music making can feed the soul of a school community, enriching each student while strengthening the shared bonds of support and trust which make a great school. 

The Model Music Curriculum

DfE March 2021

Intent

Our Music curriculum intends to engage and inspire our children through a curriculum that motivates and challenges all learners to develop a love of music. Our curriculum is designed for all children to be able to perform, listen to, review and appreciate music from across a wide range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions. Children learn to sing and use their voices in addition to other instruments to create and compose music on their own and with others. We look to help our children become skilled, confident and creative musicians.

Our School Mission Statement is at the heart of our curriculum as we seek to ‘Serve, love, learn and inspire each other to excellence’ following the example of Jesus. 

We are ambitious for every child and follow the National Curriculum for Music which aims to ensure that all pupils:  

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Implementation

Charanga is used across school to support the implementation of a high quality music curriculum. Clearly sequenced lessons and units of work provide children with the opportunity to listen, sing, move, play instruments, improvise and/ or compose, and perform a wide variety of songs in many styles. 

Children are taught about the elements of music through songs. A spiralled approach to learning ensures that musical elements and concepts introduced to younger children are continually revisited in more complex ways over time. This supports children in deepening their learning and musical expertise. 

The curriculum promotes children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development, enabling them to become more reflective and responsible citizens through Social Questions and Musical Spotlights. These encourage children to consider the world we live in, their communities and relationships with others. We encourage children to engage with and inquire into the broader role music plays in our lives and society.  

Resources from the following schemes: Singing Sherlock, Music Express, the BBC Ten Pieces and Sky Music Hub, are used to complement Charanga as appropriate. 

Additional Opportunities

Over the course of their time at St Patrick’s, children are given many opportunities to develop their musicianship in different ways including: 

• Performing in whole class productions
• Visiting local Secondary Schools to watch live performances and experience a wide range of live music.
• Showcasing musical skills in Talent Shows (KS2)
• Participating in workshops and After School Clubs (KS2)

These experiences support children’s learning and also provide them with a chance to broaden their understanding of Music and the Performing Arts, experiencing different forms of culture.

Impact

At St Patrick’s, we recognise the unique needs of each child and support them in reaching their full potential. Our Music curriculum enables children to progress to the next level of musicianship. We ensure children receive the experiences they require, both within and beyond the curriculum, to develop their skills and become confident musicians. 

By the end of each Key Stage, we expect children to competent in the following areas, as outlined in the National Curriculum: 

   Key stage 1

• Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
• Play tuned and untuned instruments musically
• Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
• Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.

   Key stage 2 

• Sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
• Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
• Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
• Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
• Use and understand staff and other musical notations
• Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
• Develop an understanding of the history of music.

" I enjoy performing in small groups or pairs." (Year 4 child)

" I enjoy Music lessons because my teacher makes it interesting." (Year 3 child) 

" I am proud of my work in Music." (Year 3 child)

" I enjoy watching performances by professional musicians." (Year 5 child)